Licensed Home Child Care – Become a Provider
What is Licensed Home Child Care?
Licensed Home Child Care is licensed child care services offered in a home by a contracted self employed individual, licensed by an child care operator such as the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka.
The individual who provides licensed child care services in their home is referred to as a Provider. Providers are screened, on boarded and contracted by the YMCA. Providers are monitored by the Ministry of Education and the YMCA to ensure standards and licensed child care requirements are met.
Benefits of Being a Licensed Home Child Care Provider:
- Self-employed, you create your own program!
- Earn an income while working from home
- Set your own hours and schedule around your own family schedule
- You can provide language and/or cultural familiarity within your own community
- As a licensed Provider your services are eligible for CWELLC Funding and Municipal Subsidy
Why Partner with YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka?
- You will receive ongoing support from a dedicated YMCA Home Consultant
- You will be supported through licensing, set up and programming
- The YMCA is responsible for payment collection from your families
- Providers receive, dollar for dollar – no fee for service reductions applied
- We provide administrative support; Less paperwork for you!
- You’ll receive comprehensive and ongoing training and professional learning through the YMCA and our Community Partners that are funded
- Professional development and networking opportunities
- Eligibility for government grants
- Participating in the Canada-Wide Early Learning Child Care Agreement
- Participation in the YMCA’s support and commitment to ensuring families have access to affordable, high-quality, licensed child care
- To provide parents with security and assurance that their child is placed in quality programming
- Eligible for start up grant funding which supports the agency is purchasing play based items and children’s furnishings for business start up
- Access to our agency and community partners Lending Libraries for educational resources and additional equipment
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be operating a home child care currently to be considered?
No, you do not need to be currently providing home child care to be considered. However, being an existing unlicensed home child care Provider may speed up your process of becoming a contracted licensed home provider with the YMCA. We are looking for individuals who are interested in providing child care within their homes under our licensed agency.
Is home child care the right career and business for me?
If you love to work with children, you have experience with children 0-12 years of age (family, employment, volunteering), and you are 18 years of age or older, you are a good candidate.
YMCA home child care providers are inspired to care for children by offering nurturing, personalized quality child care in their home. If you enjoy supporting children learning through exploration, play and inquiry and are able to provide a home environment for children to grow and develop, you are a candidate we want to connect with.
Providers of YMCA Licensed Home Child Care welcome professional support, guidance and resources to help start.
Please refer to our Provider Orientation for more information regarding our program. Participating in a Phone Screening with our YMCA Licensed Home Child Care Consultant can also help you in deciding if Licensed Home Child Care services is the career for you.
How long will the process take for me to become a Licensed Home Child Care Provider contracted by the YMCA?
The process to become a Licensed Home Child Care Provider contracted by the YMCA depends on the time it takes for the applicant to:
- Complete agency phone screening and reference checks
- Participate in three home inspections for health and safety
- Provide a clear fire inspection of your home completed by a municipal fire inspector
- Provider verified Vulnerable Sector Checks for themselves and anyone else in the household who is 18 or older.
- Submit up-to-date immunization records and health assessments for themselves and anyone else in the home.
- Provide required certification in Standard First Aid including Infant/Child CPR Level C.
A YMCA Home Consultant supports each provider throughout the application process.
What are the requirements of a home Provider to operate a child care services with the YMCA?
A candidate is required to:
- Complete agency phone screening and reference checks
- Participate in three home inspections for health and safety
- Provide a clear fire inspection of your home completed by a municipal fire inspector
- Provider verified Vulnerable Sector Checks for themselves and anyone else in the household who is 18 or older.
- Submit up-to-date immunization records and health assessments for themselves and anyone else in the home.
- Provide required certification in Standard First Aid including Infant/Child CPR Level C.
- Demonstrate appropriate areas for indoor and outdoor play, sleeping, eating, toileting, and diapering
- Have the ability to offer and create a child friendly environment that includes a clean and safety proofed home, toys, materials and equipment for children 0-13 years of age
- Nutritious snacks and meals in keeping with Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating (hc-sc.gc.ca).
- Adherence to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act (effective May 31, 2006, this act prohibits smoking in “a place where private home day care is provided within the meaning of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, whether or not children are present.”) (gov.on.ca).
- A working telephone on the premise
- Programming for children planned and implemented in accordance with “How Does Learning Happen: Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years” (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/pedagogy.html)
A YMCA Home Consultant supports each provider throughout the application process.
Who are home consultants or home visitors, and what do they do?
Home Consultants and Home Visitors and are experienced YMCA Leaders in our Child and Family Development Department, who are trained in early childhood education and have extensive knowledge of child development and the rules and regulations of licensed child care.
A Home Consultant screens, approves and monitors licensed home child care Providers and assists with the application process. Our Licensed Home Child Care Home Visitor team visits contracted homes monthly to ensure compliance and quality care. The also help Providers align their services and practice with MEDU standards and CCEYA Regulations, offering support and professional development.
As a Licensed Home Child Care Provider with the YMCA, you are not alone. Home Consultants operate in partnership with you, offering support and professional development opportunities.